Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff

Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Professor Marcia Devlin, Open Universities Australia, formerly Deakin University (Lead Institution) Professor Sally Kift, James Cook University, formerly Queensland University of Technology Professor Karen Nelson, Queensland University of Technology Ms Liz Smith, Charles Sturt University Dr Jade McKay, Deakin University Support for the production of this report/publication has been provided by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching The views expressed in this report/publication/ activity not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and where otherwise noted, all material presented in this document is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/) The details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website (accessible using the links provided) as is the full legal code for the CC BY 3.0 AU licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/legalcode) Requests and inquiries concerning these rights should be addressed to: Office for Learning and Teaching Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education GPO Box 9880, Location code N255EL10 Sydney NSW 2001 2012 ISBN 978 922125 53 (Print) ISBN 978 922125 54 (Screen) Table of Contents About this guide 1 Bridging sociocultural incongruity An empathic institutional context Key advice for teachers Know and respect your students Offer your students flexibility, variety and choice Make expectations clear, using accessible language 14 Scaffold your students’ learning 17 Be available and approachable to guide student learning 21 Be a reflective practitioner 24 Project methodology 25 References 26 About this guide Bridging sociocultural incongruity This resource has been developed as part of a national research project, Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Resources for Australian higher education This guide provides practical advice about the teaching characteristics and strategies that contribute to the success of students from low socioeconomic status (LSES) and about the ways in which student agency may be enabled The project assumes that LSES students are as varied as any other cohort of students and is wary of stereotyping As part of that way of thinking about these students, the project has developed a distinctive conceptual framework that avoids adopting either a deficit conception of students from LSES backgrounds or a deficit conception of the institutions in which they study Rather than being the primary responsibility of solely the student or the institution to change to ensure student success, we argue that the adjustments This guide is not intended as a manual for would be most usefully conceptualised as a ‘joint teaching students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, nor does it prescribe how the advice venture’ toward bridging sociocultural incongruity it offers might be implemented Instead, it offers The notion of sociocultural incongruence general, practical advice that has emerged from is adopted as a way of conceptualising the relevant literature in the field, 26 interviews with differences in cultural and social capital between academic and professional staff in six universities students from low socioeconomic status experienced in the effective teaching and support backgrounds and the high socioeconomic of LSES students, and 89 interviews with successful institutions in which they study The polarised LSES students in three universities about what deficit conceptions commonly resorted to for helped them succeed The guide draws on the students and institutions, and the conception of voices of staff and students and, through sharing sociocultural incongruence, which challenges their views, offers broad advice in six areas of these perceived deficits, are outlined below teaching that may assist busy teaching staff We recommend considering the advice and The first deficit conception: suggestions in this guide within the context of students are the problem your professional life, discipline and workload The suggestion that university success is primarily the responsibility of individual students can presuppose a level playing field in relation to sociocultural and background characteristics It can be seductive to think that if non-traditional students are clever enough, or try hard enough, or persevere enough, or believe enough in their own ability, they can engineer their success at university Devlin (2011) suggests the tacit expectations inherent in university practices are within a sociocultural subset that is peculiar to the upper socioeconomic levels Unless these implicit expectations are made explicit, they may operate to exclude students from low socioeconomic status who are not familiar with the norms and discourses of universities Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff The second deficit conception: institutions are the problem The other conceptual frame is to problematise the institutions that are responsible for the success and progress of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds Some suggest that rather than requiring students to fit the existing institutional culture, institutional cultures should be adapted to better fit the needs of an increasingly diverse student body (Zepke and Leach, 2005) Other authors suggest that: • there are situational and dispositional barriers created by institutional inflexibility (Billingham, 2009) • ‘ … the role of the educational institution itself in creating and perpetuating inequalities’ should be taken into account (Tett, 2004, p 252) • it is unfair to expect the burden of change to fall solely on the students and institutions should make changes (Bamber and Tett, 2001), and • universities should make changes in terms of heralding the expectations they have of students (James, Krause and Jenkins, 2010) Devlin (2010) argues that to genuinely contribute to the success and achievement of non-traditional students, universities need to much more than spell out their expectations for student involvement in learning The sociocultural conception: incongruence must be bridged The project proposes a conceptual framework of ‘sociocultural incongruence’ to describe the circumstances in which students from low socioeconomic status attempt to engage with the particular sociocultural discourses, tacit expectations and norms of higher education Murphy’s (2009) UK study of factors affecting the progress, achievement and outcomes of new students to a particular degree program found a number of characteristics specific to the institution and to individual students that promote progression and achievement These factors enable the incongruence between students and institutions to be ‘bridged’ An empathic institutional context We argue that sociocultural incongruity can be bridged through the provision of an empathic institutional context that: • values and respects all students • encompasses an institution-wide approach that is comprehensive, integrated and coordinated through the curriculum • incorporates inclusive learning environments and strategies • empowers students by making the implicit, explicit, and • focuses on student learning outcomes and success These characteristics were derived through the project’s literature analysis and are supported by the evidence arising from interviews with staff and students conducted as part of this project Synthesis and analysis of the interview data revealed four key themes to which institutions need to attend to ensure the effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status The study found that the empathic institutional context: employs inclusive teaching characteristics and strategies enables student agency facilitates life and learning support, and takes into account students’ financial challenges This guide presents the key findings that emerged from the study that are of relevance to teachers The focus of this guide is on the active creation of supportive and inclusive learning environments that enable student agency The six pieces of advice focus on practical ways that teachers can contribute to the establishment of an empathetic context within and outside the formal learning environment These practical suggestions are summarised in the list below and further details are provided in the sections that follow Hence – ‘bridging sociocultural incongruity’ Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Key advice for teachers The key advice to staff teaching students from LSES backgrounds in Australian universities to emerge from this national study is: Know and respect your students Understand LSES students are time poor; communicate with them, embrace and integrate their diversity and enable contributions of their knowledge to everyone’s learning Offer your students flexibility, variety and choice While upholding academic standards, offer LSES students flexibility, choice in assessment and variety in teaching and learning strategies Make expectations clear, using accessible language Speak and write in plain language to ensure students understand the concepts being taught, your expectations of them and what is required to be a successful student Scaffold your students’ learning Take a step-by-step approach to teaching to ensure students build on what they bring to higher education and are taught the particular discourses necessary to succeed Be available and approachable to guide student learning In addition to being available, be approachable so that students may make use of your expertise and guidance to improve their learning and performance Be a reflective practitioner Reflect and seek to act on your own reflections, those from peers and feedback from students, to continuously improve your teaching practice and your students’ learning Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Know and respect your students The first piece of practical advice for those who teach LSES students is to know and respect your students In order to value all of their students, effective teaching staff know their students, understand their contexts and embrace what their students bring and contribute to higher education Research clearly demonstrates the importance to students of feeling valued and respected (Grabau 1999; Midobuche 1999) and the impact this has on the development of a greater sense of belonging and a positive self-concept (Midobuche 1999) A significant part of valuing students and facilitating their success lies in knowing them Erikson and Strommer (1991) argue that to know how to teach students, we must first understand them According to Fenty (1997), knowing students and the challenges they are facing while studying improves retention rates and the overall success of students In line with the research, the clearest finding from the 26 staff interviews conducted for the national study was that staff who effectively teach and support LSES students value and respect their students As one staff member interviewed for the project put it: I always assume that most of my students have some sort of diversity … be that low SES, be that cultural, generational, gender, sexuality, whatever and I think that the main strategy that I use with my students is to actually get to know who they are … [COL_009] Experienced and successful staff felt that part of respecting one’s students was providing supplementary support to promote and strengthen a level of resource equity As one staff member explained: So they’re not like my kids that can come home to academics as parents and say ‘Help me with this essay‘ For many of them they don’t have that support network so we have to be that support network for them [COL_025] Another staff member summed up the importance of knowing, valuing and respecting one’s students this way: I think that the best advice I could say to anybody is talk to your students, find out about them, make them feel valued, make them feel important, that their knowledge and skills are as important as anybody else’s, and to utilise those skills in particular areas, nothing de-values somebody more than being made to feel like their skills aren’t important [COL_011] Time poverty LSES students are extremely ‘time poor’ and staff who wish to effectively teach and support these students need to be aware of this factor The literature shows clearly that as a result of balancing financial pressures, family responsibilities and/or significant hours of employment with study, many LSES students are under greater time constraints than traditional students The findings from the current project confirmed those in the literature Both staff and students interviewed referred to the competing pressures facing LSES students A critical part of knowing one’s students is being aware of, and empathic to the impact of, these factors Staff interviewed commented: … a common one is that in an LSES scenario … the student has to assume carer duties for other members of their family which typically in … a non LSES case that’s not necessarily a problem for those students [COL_004] They’re very time poor and so unless this is going to improve their learning outcomes, they’re not interested Unless it’s going to make it easier to that assessment task in a timely way, they’re not going to engage in it because they are very time poor [COL_021] Student interviewees offered insight into the time pressures they are under: You actually have to set aside a really significant portion of your week, in order to succeed at uni, you can’t just sort of grab an hour here or there, it doesn’t work You really need to be able to organise your life, so that you have some significant slabs of time to sit down and dedicate to study, and for me, that is three days a week, my son’s at school … my daughter’s at pre-school … so I have three days where I have no children between the hours of nine and three, where I just go hammer and tongs, and that is exclusive study time, and I don’t let anything else interfere, or interrupt that time … [STU_056] Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff This staff member makes clear the impact on study of students being time poor: There’s a fair few extensions at the end of … semester … when all of the assignments are due … and they’ve got exams … they’re working, coming to class and then after the family is in bed … they study It’s really quite difficult [COL_024] It is clearly important for staff to be empathic to LSES students seeking extensions and flexibility (as discussed further below) Such requests are not indicative of poor time management or organisation on the part of students, as can often be assumed Instead, such requests can be necessary for LSES students because of unexpected work, family or carer responsibilities Getting to know students Knowing your students, perhaps including their names, backgrounds, needs, learning styles and/ or previous experience and/or knowledge, as well as something about their circumstances was recognised by staff as one of the most important factors in the success of LSES students in higher education Staff explained: It’s about individual contact and about understanding where people come from [COL_002] Communicating with students While it may sound obvious to some, staff interviewed as part of the project identified listening to, talking to and communicating with students as key strategies in terms of getting to know one’s students Experienced staff gave the following examples related to listening to students: … you need to listen to students When they are saying things to you, or telling you things, you need to be able to listen to what their stories are, and I think the more you listen to students, and the more they speak up and join in, you can get an overview of their backgrounds, and their weakness [COL_001] [Make] time to listen to them … because sometimes they have personal things that are impacting on their lives that are affecting their learning, so sometimes just listening and knowing them and going, ‘How are you going today?’ [COL_025] Students agreed When asked what had helped them to succeed, students frequently mentioned the importance of communication between teachers and students: Well, one of my lecturers … she’s absolutely brilliant because … she will communicate with students [STU_045] … you’ve got to go back to the learner You’ve got to try to understand the learner I’m not necessarily saying you have to fully and One student described the impact of a staff totally understand a person, but you need to member with excellent communication skills: understand them in terms of the context of … you could answer a question completely that knowledge you’re trying to teach them wrong and she would not belittle you for it and [COL_016] that in itself is empowering because she won’t make you feel like a fool, never You can go to As one staff member said: her with any problem She will listen She may … you can’t be inclusive unless you know not be able to anything about it, but she will your students … that is the most important listen She’ll support you if you have a teary eye thing [COL_001] over something, she is there with a box of tissues Sometimes she can fix things, sometimes you Getting to know your students can be very just need somebody to vent to [STU_084] challenging and particularly so in large classes, across multiple smaller classes and online without Communicating with students in the ways any face-to-face contact Staff interviewed for outlined above can seem to be time consuming the project shared some of the techniques Staff noted for their effectiveness in teaching they use successfully, despite these challenges and supporting LSES students believe doing so Communicating with students, embracing is ultimately an efficient use of time as issues for diversity and enabling contributions from LSES students that start small not end up larger and and other students were among the strategies requiring more staff time and effort because of recommended by experienced, effective staff having been ignored Experienced staff were also to assist in developing some knowledge and of the view that the effort spent in communicating understanding of and respect for students Each is with students, particularly early on, paid dividends discussed in turn below in terms of both student engagement and the quality of learning they experienced Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Embracing and integrating student diversity Some highly experienced staff felt strongly that the deficit conceptions of LSES students commonly held in the sector were erroneous Many of the staff interviewed recommended They argued that all students have contributions inclusivity and embracing and integrating student to make to curriculum, teaching and learning diversity in the classroom as both a mechanism and that the teacher’s role is to enable those for getting to know students and as a way to contributions as much as possible so that enhance the curriculum and teaching and the everyone might benefit from the different learning of all students Staff outlined strategies perceptions, interpretations and experiences in such as varying pedagogical delivery practices and diverse cohorts Moving from an ‘I-teach-youdesigning engaging learning activities as ways of learn’ understanding of teaching and learning embracing and integrating student diversity: to one that recognises ‘that there is expertise elsewhere’ including among the students can … use as much diversity as possible in your be a difficult and challenging shift for staff to pedagogical practices, because there’s all sorts of different learners Don’t presume that make It is therefore important that staff make groups all learn in certain ways, watch out for use of professional development opportunities to support them in trying to enhance their teaching generalisations [COL_026] I think that is probably where the teacher should see their role, rather than as kind of causing learning as in ‘I teach, you learn’ … [instead as] in trying to design learning activities that will help the students to learn and also possibly recognising that there is expertise elsewhere [COL_004] Students highlighted the importance of teachers recognising the level students are at and embracing the diversity within student cohorts: I think that at the very beginning to have somebody there to say, ‘ … we understand that this is new for a lot of you … but there’s no right or wrong way There’s no right or wrong question The questions are important, because if we don’t ask the questions, then we can’t help’ [COL_062] Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Recognising and enabling student contributions Recognising the valuable and unique contribution that students from LSES backgrounds bring to higher education was identified as central to effective teaching of this cohort of students Making time and space for student to contribute to class is also one time-efficient way for staff to get to know their students and for students to get to know each other Contrary to some myths that surround the capability of LSES students, LSES student performance is commensurate with or above average As one staff member interviewed reported: As one staff member interviewed explained: … being able to pull in people’s different experiences because they’ve come from different areas can actually be really insightful And when we’re talking about developing marketing strategy, it’s like we’re talking to different groups and we want to know why one group might look at that marketing communication and go ‘That’s a lie, that’s a joke’, whereas another group might look at it and go ‘It’s perfectly believable’, and it’s because of that diversity in their backgrounds So I’m very strongly in favour of people just embracing it and trying to get as many different voices coming into the mix as possible [COL_013] … stats have shown in our course that, generally speaking, our low SES students tend to better They’re slightly better motivated As another staff member advised: and probably more capable students … it’s a kind of … underlying premise I guess, [COL_014] find out what they damn well know before you start battering them Don’t start teaching As another explained in relation to school leaver and expect them to be ignorant They’ll have students: a rich experience It mightn’t be yours, but … students who came from public high spend time finding out what the students schools tended to better and last longer know [COL_029] and succeed faster … have fewer fails in In terms of how to go about enabling such things so progress faster at university, than contributions, one staff member suggested: students who came from private schools or through the religious schools … simply … respectful communication … it’s about because … [the public school students] acknowledging students … And trying to tap never had the resources handed to them and into some little something, you know, some they always had to fight for everything and little strength that they might have, some they were much more independent learners little narrative that they might have that we [COL_013] can all sort of share in in order to build that self worth, if you like, that sense of ‘Well, why One way that teachers might be able to facilitate is it that they’re here?’ and their contribution contributions from LSES students is by integrating is just as valuable [COL_015] the knowledge that the students bring with them to higher education into classroom and online Overall, the advice here points to the discussions As mentioned above, this necessitates underpinning qualities of empathy towards quite a different approach to one that assumes and respect for LSES and all students deficit in LSES students Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff I feel like they’re using big words and big sentences when they can say the exact same thing in simple language and half the amount of words … In other words, ‘What does it actually mean?’ So I’ve had a few teachers that I really couldn’t understand and they were just so sort of theoretical that I found myself tuning out which was really difficult and it also can get maximally hard to relate to if they’re speaking in really high academic language [STU_035] Staff concurred with students about the use of complex and obscure language by staff in their comments: … students say to me, ‘Our lecturer has given us lectures, and we don’t understand their language, what they’re saying They’re speaking something like a foreign language, with terms, and different phrases’ [COL_001] So these students that I interviewed … one of the things that came out is that there would be questions like, ‘Do it with depth Respond with depth and meaning’ … and they go, ‘What’s depth? What they mean by depth?’ Or critical analysis and, ‘What’s critical?’ ‘What’s analysis?’ So I think that some of the things that have been challenging for these students is really understanding what the languague [means] [COL_021] Real-life examples Students also commented on the benefits of teachers who used ‘real-life’ examples in their teaching: I like the ones who are more practical, have a more practical approach … they’re actually giving, their life examples or speaking about their experiences and … I find that more beneficial [STU_037] And I think with the tutors, they’re quite personal, so they’ll relate their own experiences, which is really good because you have something to go from rather than it being really abstract … They have so many stories, which … really helps me put it into the real world kind of context [STU_088] Students from LSES backgrounds are not alone in appreciating the use of anecdotes, stories and reallife examples in teaching Like much of the advice offered in this guide, the use of such examples benefits all students and their learning From the students’ perspective … just trying to de code the assessment criteria is an issue What does that actually mean, because it’s not written in plain English It’s not written in English that first year students, or even second and third year students, can understand [COL_012] The importance of demystifying the content of curriculum and, particularly, the assessment requirements for LSES students cannot be overstated Current practice in use of ‘high academic language’ excludes students who are not familiar with that language and puts them at a distinct disadvantage compared to their higher SES peers who are familiar with such language The challenge is that some academic staff are not aware of their exclusive language use or may believe that it is a sign of intelligence if students understand such language Of course, it is not – it is a sign of familiarity with the language, nothing more Students from LSES backgrounds should be given the opportunity to become familiar with the language and plain English should be used in the meantime If nomenclature is needed, it is best to teach it to the students as it is introduced 15 Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Suggested strategies • Record a typical class and review your use of language for jargon, acronyms, complex vocabulary, long sentences, the absence of clear explanations and the like • Ask a small group of volunteer students to listen to this recording and give you feedback about your use of language and your clarity • Ask a colleague from another discipline to critically review your subject guide or other material you give to students for the use of confusing jargon, acronyms, complex vocabulary and the like • Actively practise simplifying your oral and written language and using explanations of greater depth • Try to include a small number of short anecdotes or stories in each class to engage students and help them understand and remember concepts Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 16 Scaffold your students’ learning The term ‘scaffolded learning’ takes its name from the idea of a support structure that is gradually removed as the central entity becomes strong enough to stand on its own Scaffolded learning refers to learning that is tailored to meet student needs, helps students reach their learning goals and provides the necessary degree of support to assist students in their learning The literature shows that there are good reasons to scaffold the learning of LSES students, related to their confidence and relevant skill level As Devlin and McKay (2011) report, LSES students can be reluctant to seek support from academic staff with subject-related queries because they are often unsure of the validity of their questions and how staff might respond to their queries (Benson et al 2009; Lawrence 2005) LSES students can lack confidence and self-esteem, which can in turn affect their choices about seeking support (David et al 2010; Murphy 2009; Christie et al 2008; Charlesworth 2004) Further, as Devlin and McKay (2011) point out, LSES students may not be equipped with the skill set that traditional students hold in terms of academic, research, computer, writing and language skills (Kirk 2008; Fitzgibbon and Prior 2006) The academic preparedness for university study of LSES students can sometimes be different to that of traditional students (Murphy 2009; Northedge 2003; Berger 2000) In particular, there can often be a mismatch between their cultural capital and the middle class culture they encounter in higher education (Greenbank 2006, Devlin 2011) Many students interviewed as part of this project reported feeling under-prepared in terms of their academic, research, computer, writing and/ or language skills Enabling scaffolded learning, that is, explicitly teaching to different levels and using a step-by-step approach toward mastery, was identified by staff as critical in successfully teaching diverse cohorts, particularly those with students from LSES backgrounds who vary in their levels of academic preparedness As staff explained: … I think we have to recognise that all students are at different levels They’re not all at the same level of learning and understanding [COL_001] 17 Well how I’d like to design it … is to make sure that it does actually come from where the students are from, so it’s flexible enough that they can actually bring in their world but then it actually challenges them to go beyond that so it’s always starting from where they are [COL_008] One staff member explained their approach to scaffolding and the benefit to all students: Well what I try to is find ways in which I can scaffold the information … I … try and structure it so that every student has the capacity to look at the task and if they understand it to begin with, then they can move onto the next task … some students who are finding it perhaps a little bit more difficult … so … structuring the task … allows them to say ‘Okay, well, I’m at this point and I’m going to need some help to move into the next one’, whereas the other students who are doing better can just go, ‘ Yeah well I finished that one, let’s move onto the next one’ So everybody is sort of still moving [COL_013] Approaching teaching this way can be challenging for those who are new to teaching and for those who are experienced but have taught using the more traditional approach of preparing one set of content for all students As university populations in Australia continue to diversify, it will be necessary to teach the students in ways that accommodate all of them, rather than just those who prefer and benefit from a traditional approach Teaching and learning the discourses Particular academic cultures exist within institutions They are often understood as dominant and specialist discourses of knowledge, communication and practices In layperson’s terms, ‘the way we things around here’ Students must be given the understanding and tools necessary to understand the university culture and participate in its discourses As one staff member explained: A good example of that is when you might set an essay task, for example, which requires some degree of reflection on literature Now, a culturally rich student audience will say, ‘Essay Yes, I know essays I know what they are I’ve been doing essays since such-and-such, we learnt how to write an Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff essay this way, and that way Oh yes, I know Students interviewed stressed the need to be how to get hold of literature and review it, taught academic discourse and writing: and critique it, and so forth’ The students, … how to write an essay for instance, the however, who come from a less well-endowed correct format and whatnot – that sort of background may look at you and say, ‘You stuff, that basic stuff which would seem very know, I’ve really not written very many basic to some or [to] the seasoned university essays, or I haven’t written any at all’, and students, but to someone like me, it was they may also be puzzling a little bit about invaluable in my learning process [STU_046] what an essay actually is, and ‘What you mean by critiquing the literature? Do you Well I think when I first started I had a really mean that I can’t write a sentence without good lecturer who showed you how to format acknowledging that it was an idea that an essay She told you what type of font to somebody else wrote? How does this actually use, what size font, spacing and went through work?’ So they’re not stupid, but the point is all of that because I wouldn’t have known, I’d that they don’t have this cultural knowledge have just done it with one line spacing and about how you write an essay [COL_016] handed it in, so that kind of thing made … it was just information that you don’t know Another staff member pointed to some of the that you need to know [STU_095] reasons that LSES students face challenges with discourses: The matter of whose responsibility it is to ensure these discourses and skills are taught and learnt by … once we write the assignment … we need to look at the ones who perform poorly LSES and other students, and how best to ensure they are taught in meaningful ways, is often and why they perform poorly It is usually because they just haven’t been trained in that raised In terms of responsibility, academic staff type of academic area … Usually, they are the sometimes argue that they are too busy teaching the content of the subject to also teach students first one in the family to go to university and about how to interact with the discipline and the their parents have never been to university and the parents quite often can’t assist them academic requirements Academic language and learning (ALL) skills staff sometimes argue that it with academic writing and all of that, and it is not possible to effectively teach the discourses comes out very, very quickly [COL_006] without including content and embedding such Another staff member interviewed highlighted the teaching in the discipline context There is also an challenges for some LSES students who may not argument that once they are aware of the need to have the academic literacy of their fellow students: understand and use them, students themselves have a responsibility to ensure they learn the … what a student does … in a lecture … [is] discourses The appropriate approach depends on they try to copy everything down religiously, the discipline, the teacher(s), the ways in which because they’re not looking for the key the teacher(s) and ALL skills experts might work points, and they have no idea … what they’re together and the particular student needs An expected to do, and seriously, there are so initial discussion between the teacher(s) and an many who have no concept of how to read ALL expert is advisable to plan and implement an academically, that it holds them back, so they appropriate approach stop doing it [COL_001] This staff member added: I think what we kind of ought to be doing at the beginning … is teaching students ‘chunking’, how to their academic reading, how to a glossary of words they’re not sure of, how to relevant notes [COL_001] A developmental approach to assessment A developmental, staged approach to assessment, which enables the continual and ongoing maturation of students’ learning and development of assessment performance, was seen as important to facilitating the success of The importance of teaching and learning academic discourse and, in particular, writing skills, students from LSES backgrounds This allows them to develop the skills and confidence needed to was highlighted as part of a scaffolded approach succeed in university study to learning in interview responses Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 18 Students commented on the benefits of a developmental approach to assessment tasks in helping them to succeed: My tutorials are basically all about group work and interaction and everybody in the group gets a say … and it is very, very important we that, because that binds them together with the other students and it also gets them to settle into the university in the first five or six weeks, and that is critical [COL_006] We got taken through … step by step A lot of time you’re sort of just given assignment tasks and then just sort of having to work it out for ourselves … [this] was really good in kind of easing us into it and telling us not to expect ourselves to know straight away [STU_007] Students explained why peer learning opportunities were helpful from their point of … probably because we’ve got smaller view in terms of social and academic outcomes: numbers, they get to know the students so well and they know where our weaknesses Well, I found that if you get out and mingle are They literally can present us in lessons the with other people – you make friends and best way and like their gradual assessments, then you can learn from them as well, so you they often will put so much information on don’t have to be sort of alone and solitary in those assessments so that we know where your learning I find it easy, personally, if I can our weak areas are and where we need to learn off other people as well [STU_044] build them and they take so much time and The thing that really does help me learn is effort [STU_094] having study groups with other people in my As this staff member explained: course because I can get their perspective on the topic And it motivates me to study as well … the assessment tasks that I are because they’re studying too And if I don’t incremental … it’s about ‘Okay, so what skills understand something, they can help explain I want the students to have at the end of a it or I can help them as well, which helps me particular subject?’ and whether they’ve been remember it, to explain it to them [STU_074] able to consolidate and build on those skills [COL_015] … I think learning from each other also helps With group work, it’s really interesting to ALL expert staff can also assist teaching staff to know what other people know as well ‘cause develop and implement a staged approach to we’re all learning, and I think we can all help assessment to assist students to gradually build each other learn more [STU_044] the capabilities they need for success Once again, a useful approach might start with an initial Designing and implementing peer learning in conversation between a teacher and an ALL expert class or online as activities and/or as part of the assessment strategy for a subject can be extremely Peer learning beneficial for students Not only can the inclusion of such activities increase student engagement A significant aspect of scaffolding students’ learning is providing adequate support to ensure and enjoyment though greater social interaction, this interaction can impact positively on learning students achieve the desired learning outcomes In addition, students sometimes make better The project identified peer learning as a key teachers than the teachers themselves – if there are support strategy for successful LSES students concerns about displaying a lack of understanding This applied to formal peer learning within the to teachers, for example, students may not feel classroom and online and informal peer learning comfortable asking teachers the necessary organised outside class by students Several staff questions to clarify their understanding and may noted the quality of such learning As one put it: instead prefer to approach a peer for clarification … you know that they learn from each other, Peer learning opportunities can be a formal part of half the time better than from you [COL_029] the curriculum or they can be an informal option, encouraged by staff who understand the potential This staff member explained how peer learning benefits of peer learning is important to student success in terms of its contribution to supporting transition into university: 19 Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Suggested strategies • Consider the ways in which you might be able to better scaffold LSES and other student learning through the subjects you teach Ask yourself what extra or different resources you might use to supplement your teaching and how you might include activities at different levels in class or within assessment tasks • Talk to an ALL expert within your university about the best ways to approach teaching your LSES and other students the discourses they need to learn to be successful • Design and implement peer learning activities inside and outside class and ask students to provide feedback to you on their usefulness to their understanding and learning • Provide feedback through formative assessment opportunities Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 20 Be available and approachable to guide student learning A fifth key piece of practical advice for teaching staff to emerge from this project was to be both available and approachable to students These are interlinked, yet distinguishable, characteristics of a teacher that emerged as clear factors contributing to LSES student success While ‘office hours’ and an online presence are common among university teachers, students in particular noted the value of teacher availability to assist them in understanding what was required of them and in supporting their attempts to perform appropriately in assessment Research supports the importance of teacher availability and its impact on improved outcomes for students (Kearney et al 1991; Mottet et al 2005; Shin 2003) Over and above availability, a teacher’s ‘approachability’ was noted by numerous students as one of the keys to student success When a student knew their query would be welcomed and appropriately addressed, when they knew a teacher would be friendly and when they knew the interaction they were seeking would be pleasant and helpful to their learning, they were much more likely to take the risk of exposing their lack of understanding and seek help These findings are supported in the literature on effective teaching, which maintains that ‘approachability’ is a key teacher attribute from the students’ point of view (Sander et al 2000; Reid and Johnston 1999) It is important to note that students did not expect help ‘24/7’ or in an unlimited way That said, however, the issue of staff workload did arise This is discussed below, following an outline of characteristics of teachers that were found to help LSES students succeed Teachers who are available The importance of teachers simply being available is a factor in facilitating success of students from LSES backgrounds As staff experienced in facilitating LSES student success explained: It doesn’t matter how many fancy electronic resources you’ve got If you haven’t got time for them, you’ve got problems [COL_011] In relation to the availability of staff members and how helpful they found this, students commented: It was always clear to us that if we needed support we could just go talk to the coordinator or our lecturers or anyone really … that’s a big benefit of coming here that they’re very accessible [STU_092] I think having a lecturer available for help and to ask questions – like you can easily email them … or organise a time to meet up with them for help I think that’s really helpful [STU_074] Support from the lecturers … or the tutors [helped me succeed] When they make themselves available, where they make appointments with you to discuss things that you’re not clear about, that’s the best help that I’ve had actually [STU_009] Teachers who are approachable Teachers being perceived as approachable was seen by both staff and students as critical to student success Staff commented: You know I just like to make myself approachable to students so that if they’ve got a difficulty they can come and tell me and I will understand [COL_009] I guess it’s just having the door open and trying to have as accessible an approach as possible So where you are encouraging students to talk to you if something’s not right [COL_027] Students commented about teacher approachability as opposed to simple availability through office or contact hours As one summed it up: I find some lecturers are really approachable if you’ve got a question and some aren’t at all So you’ve just got to pick which ones are and … you can sort of tell by their mannerism and how they answer a question in the classroom whether they’re approachable in their contact time [STU_095] I think it’s just time I think I would spend the most time with them Isn’t that one of the most valuable resources that you can really give, is time? [COL_025] 21 Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Teachers who are helpful Teachers’ helpfulness was identified by the majority of student interviewees as having contributed to their success So as well as being available and approachable, the quality of interaction between students and staff was seen as critically important, as was the outcome of the interaction When asked what had helped them succeed in their study to date, 60 out of 89 LSES students interviewed for this project (67 per cent) specifically commented on the helpfulness of teachers having facilitated and supported their success in their studies Typical examples of comments included: … there are some people who are more helpful than others … there’s one fellow … who was just terrific in the last practicum subject, because you could actually go to him with various other questions or concerns, and he’d help you get those sorted out, even outside of his own subject, so there are some people like that who are just really, really keen to help … [STU_056] … there was a lot of assignments where I really had no idea what I was supposed to So I’d go to him … he would give up a lot of his spare time to help me get on track and stuff and get me really thinking about it And … he made himself available whenever I needed him There was multiple times where I would send him an email, and he’d just say, ‘Look, come into my office, and I’ll discuss it with you.’ And every time I walked in his office – he just seemed like he was the busiest man in the world – but he’d sit there with me for an hour and a half to two hours sometimes, just telling me other things and telling me what I need to and stuff like that He … led me in the right direction [STU_004] Staff indicated some of the ways in which they tried to be helpful: I will offer them the opportunity to post online the example question where they will write on a forum … So that’s using the online tools [COL_015] into tears and just described what had been happening and then together we planned how she was going to manage her work and she’s done it [COL_009] Staff workload The characteristics of availability, approachability and helpfulness together raise the issue of time and workload for teachers of LSES students Experienced staff frequently commented on the extra time they spent with LSES students assisting them to come to terms with university requirements and develop the skills and confidence they needed to perform appropriately in assessment tasks Some universities have arrangements where academic and language skills support and development are embedded in curriculum Alternatively or in addition, support staff may work closely with academic staff to provide necessary support and advice on discourses, skills, assessment requirements and the like to students Where they exist, these arrangements work well to ensure students are supported toward success without the sole responsibility for this support falling to academic teaching staff No university, to our knowledge, has yet formally acknowledged the extra time required to teach LSES students in workload models This may be an area that requires further investigation in the future The project has developed advice on resourcing and supporting those who teach and support LSES students and this in contained in a companion guide for institutional and policy leaders Feedback/feed forward Another factor in facilitating LSES student success is the provision of feedback and ‘feed forward’ As one staff member explained: Basically, I think the philosophy is allow them to make mistakes and then improve on it … Education … should be about taking risks, trying things out and having a journey whereby you’re not trying to guess what someone else wants or what the right thing is before you really know [COL_003] Recently a student who has a mental health Another agreed: disability … she hadn’t handed anything in all year and I’d sent her a couple of emails I think constant information going back and saying that ‘I’ve noticed that we haven’t got forth between the students and the lecturer anything Is there anything, you need extra about how they’re performing … make … help?’ and she came up to me and she burst it [as] straightforward [an] experience as possible transitioning from where they’ve been before into university [COL_014] Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 22 A third outlined the approach taken to providing feedback: We give lots of formative feedback, so all of my tutors and lecturers, we take drafts so they can hand in a draft assignment and we all give one lot of feedback … Obviously we deconstruct the assignments for them but it’s also about the learning It shouldn’t be just about the assessment, it really has to be about the learning [COL_025] In relation to feedback, students were clear about its positive impact on their success: … feedback … helped [me] to see where you were and improve the next semester Although it wasn’t the same subject but you could still apply it to different areas and different assignments [STU_003] I think that the feedback’s there when you want it … and … the systems are in place to provide feedback … it’s formative feedback, it’s learning, assessment for learning sort of thing Your learning grows [STU_101] 23 Suggested strategies • Ensure your ‘office hours’ and other availability online are clear to students, along with details of how to contact you and expected response times • Review the style and content of your oral and written communication to ensure you appear approachable to assist students with their learning • Use time efficient methods of providing feedback/feed forward, including: - using generalised written summaries of general strengths and weaknesses to groups of students - using pre-prepared feedback/ feed forward templates that match the assessment criteria - using the learning management system or appropriate software to communicate with all students - via carefully trained, briefed and supported tutors or other casual staff Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Be a reflective practitioner Finally, the findings from the project point clearly to the importance of teachers reflecting on their practice and making adjustments to ensure they are teaching all of the students in their charge as well as possible ‘Reflective practice’ on the part of teachers of students from LSES backgrounds is critical Drawing on the work of Loughran (2002), reflective practice is understood as the need for teachers to ‘develop their understanding about the way they conduct their work, and to be skilled practitioners through their work … By doing so, the knowledge base of the profession is developed and refined in ways that help the practitioner to be an effective and informed professional’ (p 34) The need for reflective practice in teaching is widely upheld and promoted in the literature (Brookfield 1995; Valli 1993; Osterman and Kottkamp 1993; Russell and Munby 1992; Richert 1990; Schön 1987; Smyth 1992) Staff who are committed to offering effective teaching and support of students from not only LSES but all backgrounds will necessarily be reflective in their practice One of the major findings to emerge from the project was that staff members known for their expertise in teaching and supporting LSES students shared reflective practice as a common trait As staff explained: … in terms of the need of making inherent expectations explicit and even some of the hidden cultural assumptions that are in the way I’m marking, judging and assessing, I’ve really had to soul-search about why I prioritise the fact that having a linear argument that’s written in a direct and rational way is superior to somebody who might write in metaphor in a circular way [COL_009] Reflection does not necessarily lead to immediate solutions, as this last comment above in particular shows However, it can lead to important questions, which in time may find responses that enhance teaching and learning for all students Involving colleagues in reflection may be one way to support critical examination of your practice One staff member suggested reciprocal peer review as one way to reflect and learn from others simultaneously: You get somebody to review what you’re doing and that’s always beneficial But also you get to see what others are doing and you know you adapt what’s appropriate to your own student group from that [COL_005] The challenges of reflective practice were acknowledged: … the immediate effort in trying to sort of step back and look at what you’re doing is quite difficult, particularly when you’re engaging yourself in other people’s minds all the time, to then step back and look at your own is another jump [COL_003] … it’s about I suppose helping adults to learn, I mean that’s my philosophy … the philosophy comes from an andragogical background which is the science of helping adults to learn So that means always looking at my practice … and saying, ‘Well, how can I Some staff suggested other creative ways to this better?’ [COL_015] inform reflective practice, for example: … I found … that I was teaching them all these things and they weren’t even sort of remembering from the exam and I thought ‘Well, this is just a waste of everyone’s time’ … I stepped back and said, ‘Well, what they need to know from this unit? What are the core skills? What are the really valuable things that I can give them in the short time I’ve got with them that are going to be lasting?’ … [T]hen [I’d] focus on that [COL_003] … we … check for understanding of their learning and then we always have an honesty box that I take with me and they can, if they’re not understanding something but they’re too nervous to come and explain or if I’m not teaching well or they’re not getting something, they put that in the honesty box and then at the end of the week I check out the honesty box and I think ‘Oh, so next week, I need to these things’, so it’s feedback to me, how I could be better in supporting their needs … [COL_025] Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 24 Suggested strategies • Reflect on each class to determine what worked well and what might be missing and what might be improved in terms of teaching • Consider how you know to what extent students understand what you are teaching Determine how you might better understand this • Ask your students for informal feedback on your teaching and their learning • Review your online interaction in terms of the learning objectives you have for your students and determine your strengths and weaknesses and identify opportunities for enhancing future interactions • Reflect and act on formal feedback on your teaching • Ask a peer to review your teaching and provide constructive comment Project methodology Data for the national project from which the advice in this guide was derived was collected from four major sources: A review of peer reviewed and other significant literature in the broad area of the experience of students from LSES backgrounds in higher education Interviews with 89 students who were from LSES backgrounds and in the first generation of their family to attend university Interviews with 26 staff known for their expertise in teaching and/ or supporting students from LSES backgrounds at university An environmental scan of effective practice, programs, policy and initiatives in teaching and/or supporting students from LSES backgrounds across Australia The individual and collective expertise of the project team members was also used to inform data gathering and to interpret the findings, based on a unique conceptual framework developed through the project In addition, the reference group was consulted throughout the project and provided valuable guidance and feedback, as did an independent expert evaluator The methodology received ethics approval from the Deakin University Human Ethics Committee (DUHREC) [2011 – 081] and subsequently from the other universities Full details of the methodology can be found in the final report for the project at 25 Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff References Bamber, J and L Tett 2001 Ensuring integrative learning experiences for nontraditional 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Examining the role of pedagogy in higher education retention Journal of Further and Higher Education, 35(2): 182-199 27 Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff [...]... student voice and student opinions, views, knowledge and questions in your curricula and classes – ask yourself how you might increase the contribution and presence of students Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 8 2 Offer your students flexibility, variety and choice Both students and teachers saw the provision of flexibility,... [COL_024] 11 Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Variety in assessment (mode) An important part of providing flexibility and variety to students from LSES backgrounds is offering different assessment formats While noting the importance of comparability of modes or formats of assessment, staff pointed to the importance of variety... such -and- such, we learnt how to write an Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff essay this way, and that way Oh yes, I know Students interviewed stressed the need to be how to get hold of literature and review it, taught academic discourse and writing: and critique it, and so forth’ The students, … how to write an essay for. .. standards, the use of technology, a variety of teaching strategies and choice and flexibility in assessment requirements were suggested Each is outlined further below Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Teaching with technology Teaching with technology was seen as an important way in which to provide students from LSES backgrounds... class to engage students and help them understand and remember concepts Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 16 4 Scaffold your students learning The term ‘scaffolded learning’ takes its name from the idea of a support structure that is gradually removed as the central entity becomes strong enough to stand on its own... allowed in university policies should be used to assist all students to succeed The issue of staging and scaffolding assessment is discussed in some detail below under ‘4 Scaffold your students learning’ Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 12 Strategies • Examine your unconscious assumptions about LSES students and. .. teach it to the students as it is introduced 15 Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff Suggested strategies • Record a typical class and review your use of language for jargon, acronyms, complex vocabulary, long sentences, the absence of clear explanations and the like • Ask a small group of volunteer students to listen... [COL_014] Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 22 A third outlined the approach taken to providing feedback: We give lots of formative feedback, so all of my tutors and lecturers, we take drafts so they can hand in a draft assignment and we all give one lot of feedback … Obviously we deconstruct the assignments for them... better in supporting their needs … [COL_025] Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 24 Suggested strategies • Reflect on each class to determine what worked well and what might be missing and what might be improved in terms of teaching • Consider how you know to what extent students understand what you are teaching Determine... how the range of these might be widened to allow improved learning, without compromising standards 13 Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff 3 Make expectations clear, using accessible language Research shows that many LSES students enter higher education with expectations about teachers, teaching assessment and university